Michael o neill



- (No Model.)

M. ONEILL.

4 BEDTEAD. No. 312,007. Patented Feb. "10, 188-5.

E g I UNITED STATES MICHAEL ONEILL, OF MIOHIGAMME,

MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN. HIGKEY, OF SAME PLACE.

BEDS'l'EAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 312,007, dated February 10, 1885.

(Np model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MICHAEL ONEILL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Michigamme, in the county of Marquette and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bedsteads; and I do declare the following, to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention,sueh as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention is an improvement in bed steads, and has for its obj eat to provide a simple and efficient means for holding the bed stead firm and preventing its spreading.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a bedstead having myimprovement attached. Figs. 2 and 8 are perspective views of the two interlocking bars. Fig. at is a perspective view of one of the supportingplates.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a bedstead the side rails of which are provided at or about their center with snpportingplates 6. These plates have hooks for holding my device in position.

My improvement consists, essentially,of two bars, a and a, constructed and operating as will be described. For convenience of reference I call the bar a the sliding bar and the bar a the hollow bar. The sliding bar a has secured to it two jaws, I), provided with flexible shanks, and also has double lever c pivoted on it between the springs for purposes hereinafter described. I provide the rear end of the sliding bar with the slot or hook of, to engage with the hook c 011 the supporting-plate 0. This sliding bar is made angular for a portion of this length, so that the shanks b of the jaws b may be rigidlysecured and the lever c easily operated; The end a is made elliptical, so as to work easily in the hollow bar. The jaws b are provided with flexible shanks b, the ends of which are rigidly secured to the sliding bar. The double lever 0 is provided with a handle, 0, and lugs c. It maybe sometimes desirable to extend the lugs 0 under and up along the outside of the shanks b. The hollow bar a is provided at one end with two series of teeth, (1, which engage with the jaws b. At its opposite end it is provided with the slot or hook o This bar is elliptical in shape, and is hollow throughout nearly its entire length, the opening being shown at a. The bars a and a are beveled at their ends, so as to rest easily on the supporting-plates.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a supporting-plate to be used in holding the bars a and a in posit-ion. This support is simply a flat metal plate bent at right angles to form the two parts e and e. I cut the part 6 so as to form a l |-shaped slot and bend up the portion e thus formed. In this way I form hooks to hold the bars a and a by engaging with the holes a and a, respectively. The back piece, 0', is rigidly secured to the side rail of the bedstead, and the base-piece 6 forms a support for the end of the bar.

In operation the end of the sliding bar is placed in the hollow bar through the opening (L The lever c is then turned at rightangles to the line of dirgection of the sliding bar, causing the lugs o to strike against the shanks 7 5 b and force them outward, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1. The bars a and a are then adjusted upon each other until their combined length is slightly less than the width of the bedstead. The lever c is then turned back against the sliding bar, releasing the shanks b and enabling the jaws b to engage with the teeth d, thus securely fastening the two bars. The device is then placed in position on the bedstead by engaging the slots or hooks a" a S 5 r with the hooks e". By means of the teeth (I and the jaws b the two bars may be adjusted for use on bedsteads of different widths. It will be understood that,where so desired, instead of the jaw b a series of teeth may be pro- 0 vided 011 the ends of shanks b, or the bar a may be provided with a lug or projection,and the shanks I) provided with a. series of teeth without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I prefer the supporting-plate shown in Fig. 4; but it will be understood that any form of hook or catch may be used.

The advantage of my improvement will be obvious. By the use of my device the sides of the bedstead are prevented from giving away and precipitating the occupants to the floor, as often occurs with the ordinary bedstead. 7 It may sometimes be desirable to dispense with slats altogether and use two or more of my devices. In the drawings, however, I have shown the bedstead provided with my device and slats also. While, as before stated, I prefer the supporting-plates shown in Fig. 4, it will be understood that, instead of forming the lugs or hooks on the supporting-plates, the sliding and hollow bars may be provided with said hooks at their ends, and the side rails of the bedstead with slots; or other suitable engaging means could be employed to secure the desired connection.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1.v The herein-described improvement in bedsteads, consisting of a hollow bar provided with lugs or teeth and a slot, an interlocking sliding bar fitting snugly into the hollow bar, 2 5

2. The combination, with a bedstead,of the 0 hollow bar a, having a series of teeth, d, the sliding bar a, fitted to and movable into the hollow bar, and spring-jaws b, secured on the sliding bar and engaging and interlocking with the teeth, the said bars being secured to 3 5 the opposite sides of the bedstead,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MICHAEL ONEILL.

Witnesses:

JOHN HIOKEY, F. G. CHAMBERLAIN. 

